Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

One of THOSE Days

Wednesday January 4, 2012
Salt Springs Recreation Area Site #79

Not sure if it’s Murphy or not but Handy wasn’t much help today.
Things started out great. We were up, battened down and left
Walkabout by 9am. Not TOO much traffic on I-95 South.

Since we couldn’t find our Florida map from last year,
we took the opportunity to pull into the Welcome Station
and get another.

Just as we pulled into the parking lot, we got
a call from David’s Charlottesville Primary Care physician
saying the latest specific blood test they’d done
to further check out some slightly elevated protein levels
indicates that he has Monoclonal Gammopathy
and needs a consultation with a Hematologist to get it checked out.

This condition often has no symptoms and needs nothing but
semi-annual blood level checking. But you have to have a specific M-protein check
to find out how serious the condition is at present in order
to know where you are starting.
It has a 1% each year chance of progressing
to a blood cancer called multiple myeloma.

Consultation is rather a problem
if you are on the road traveling around Florida
seldom in one place for longer than a week
since you didn’t do your reservations a year in advance.

So we spent the next hour trying to get something
set up with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.
There was nothing available until early March
so assuming that he is one of the many
for whom this disease will mean nothing
but check ups twice a year, he made the appointment.

Into the Welcome Center we went,
got map and free orange or grapefruit juice…mmmmm good.
Came back, out started up and
DING DING DING DING DING.
Something’s wrong.
It’s a jack down. WHAT?
All the jacks went up fine when we left Walkabout.

But inspection revealed the right rear
(one of the two jacks with which we have NOT already had trouble)
was down about ½”.
No amount of hammer or prybaring would force it up.

So now we are pulled over on the side of the Center’s exit
and on the phone to HWH corporation
who of course has to call us back.

We wait and in less than an hour they do.
Suggestion is to let the pressure off the solenoid.
David did and the jack went back up.
He closed the valve back down and off we went.

We’d planned to stop on our way around Jacksonville
at Coastal Industries to pick up a new shower door latch
so we wouldn’t have to tie up the doors every time we move.

We got off the Interstate and on the way to Coastal
was a grocery store. We stopped, stocked up,
jack did not come back down. Lookin’ good!

Drove on to Coastal.
Got the part from Tim Griffin and talk about service,
he brought it out to the RV so we wouldn’t have to negotiate the parking lot
AND showed us where and how to install it.
Thanks Tim!

The jack didn’t come down at all. Whoopeee!!!

On we went to Salt Springs Recreation Area in
the Ocala National Forest where
they did have a “walk in” site.
We pulled into Site #79,

hooked up the electric and started leveling.
The luck ran out.
Now that jack won’t come down. Not even an inch.

Out comes the bottle jack. Talk about a bother.

So today it’s back to calling the supplemental insurance company
to make sure they will pick up the 15% of this medical visit
and labs that is not covered by Medicare.

Another call to HWH to see what will make this jack come down.
AFTER checking the fuse this time. J

AND we need to move by 1:00 to Silver River State Park.
So I’d better get out and get some exercise in this lovely spot
and get back to pack up.

One of the nice things about being and RVer: all your situations are transient. (Pun intended.) I hope that the jack just requires a simple call back from the manufacturer. And that any health issues are cleared up.By the way, nice pictures of the marsh and waterways from your previous post. Very nice.

Well, just said to Bill, "haven't heard anything from Sherry and David, hope everythings is OK." Then I log on to find out all this ;o(( Sorry about the jack problem but more concerned about David!! Looked up Monoclonal Gammopathy and an appointment at Mayo does seem like a good choice :o)) We know it will all work out!!

We are packed...almost over that packing disease...and heading out early (5am) tomorrow for Blythe Island County Park near Brunswick, GA. We are leaving early and hopefully get there about noon. Then maybe we can get out to kayak in the afternoon.

Pain in the a__ days happen. They just make me appreciate the smooth-sailing days even more. I have camped quite a bit in the Florida springs area. It has been an adventure every time. I pray the protein levels come back down.